NICHOLAS’S POV

The morning felt normal, but yesterday’s tension still weighed on me.

Even after the house was checked by security personnels and declared safe, I still felt uneasy. I drove in silence, lost in a storm of thoughts.

The intruder in the house yesterday had been just a security agent, so he said, “surveying, doing his job.”

Yet, even knowing that, the adrenaline had not faded. I hadn’t expected Ava to take it so calmly. She had followed my instructions perfectly, staying ...